DIES&DAS Ltd,
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DIES&DAS Ltd,
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Our firm, Dundee Import and Export Services Ltd, incorporating Dundee Advisory Services, began on 25 November 1999. It started out with the trading of information, with the executive director being appointed as DOLPHIN (Downunder Officer for Liaison of PHilately INternationally) on 5 April the following year. The Articles of Association for Dundee Export Services were not formally drawn up until after CANPEX 2000, when many international trade agreements were ratified. This also formalised the already existing treaty with Europe. The trading name of "Crocodiles 'R' Us" was registered at the same time.
Our firm then expanded its operations worldwide, with the name changing to Dundee Import and Export Services Ltd (DIES Ltd). Early in 2001, we employed additional philatelic advisory staff, to deal with the deluge of questions from prospective customers on the disposal of their collections, and DIES&DAS Ltd was born.
The firm made mainly unsatisfactory attempts to acquire the precious SNA "girngo" error sheetlets for valued clients, but has secured only the one, which is at present stored for safekeeping in a bank vault while clients fight tooth and nail for its possession. Possibly not one of our better forays into the world of collectible rarities.
One short-lived innovative endeavour was a highly successful eBay proxy bidding service, which prompted us to consider changing our name to DIES, DAS & Die Andere, should this translate acceptably.
Making a difference -
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In a move to give something back to the hobby, the firm in March took on the time-consuming and taxing task of the removal from eBay of the fake overprints, imperforate blocks and sheets coming from Hialeah, Florida from as early as November 2000. The present proliferation of these problematical printings has caused concern in collecting circles. Staff spent days and nights on the eBay Stamps chat board helping to educate bidders of the worthlessness of these as classical forgeries or reference material, which is how they were misdescribed in listings.
Poorly executed and often philatelically inappropriate though they are, thousands of these phony overprints, imperforate sheets and blocks are now in the collecting market. Resellers have since offered them as genuine items, proofs or classical forgeries.
Having set a precedent as the "eBay Watch Croc", our firm then turned its attention to the sudden proliferation of German forgeries on eBay.de . These forgeries of mainly European stamps and souvenir sheets were produced in Germany more than a decade ago. Names such as Heiner Faber, the well-known opera singer and forger Peter Winter, the "Gehringer" printing firm and the "House of Stamps" mail order firm have been mentioned in connection with them. eBay sellers are making money with these fakes, which look convincing in scans.
A collaboration with a similarly altruistic firm led to the production of the ground-breaking publication, eBay - the good, the bad and the downright ugly. This is aimed at educating collectors of all levels of the pitfalls of trading with eBay sellers whose material or practices are less than impeccable. Scam auctions and sellers of forgeries, fake overprints and other faked items are exposed.
The research that went into the above articles prompted the firm to pen two more. This time, the emphasis was on the positive ethics of sellers, who are trying their best to do the right thing by the buyers, whilst not being experts on all the items they list. Examples of actions of some "ridgy-didge" sellers are described to show that honesty is what counts when items in auction listings are inadvertently found not to be fair dinkum.
Listings in this area are rife with misdescriptions, misrepresentation and outright tampering. In late August, the firm employed philatelic fraud staff to combat these problems. A collaboration with others who were tired of continually seeing bidders duped and wished to expose the misdescriptions and misrepresentations that occur resulted in the eye-opening exposé, U.S. Classics on eBay - as is.
The firm took an active role in preparations for this show, including secretarial duties, preparing exhibits, nit-picking publicity documents, graphics design, mail-outs, preparing the set-up of the new "As You Like It" class and ad hoc dog's-body jobs. Because of the demands made on all staff, normal operations were suspended from January till late March.
The blatant fraud perpetuated on eBay in the area of US classics forced the firm in late March to utilise the services of a special crack force to attack the problem from various angles. With the help of concerned Stamps chat board and Stamps discussion board (now defunct) members, the SCADS team very likely forced the (alas, only temporary) departure from eBay of one of its dodgiest sellers, who sold common stamps altered to look like their high value counterparts, with a lengthy uppercase "as is" caveat.
Where is the dodgy stuff being sold now? Read all about it in the detailed article Fraud on eBay - exposed! and see for yourself the range and quantity of alterations this group of buyers and sellers have come up with in their efforts to part unsuspecting bidders from their money. The Altered U.S. stamps on eBay - exposed! article tells the story of this alteration group, and goes on to explain why U.S. stamps are likely targets for alteration. A positive adjunct to these articles is the the compilation by our Philatelic Fraud department of a list of eBay buying tips for collectors who wish to "buy smart first time".
SCADS team members are always on the watch for new instances of fraud and deception. Visit the SCADS website to keep up with the latest developments.
At the end of 2002, members of the firm were struck by family tragegy. In January 2003, the risk of damage to stock from unexpected bushfires necessitated a rethink in the firm's future business strategy. Two staff members were let go and the firm moved north to smaller and safer premises. The acquisition of the domain, www.sheryll.net, has provided the firm with a continued and stable internet presence for its various activities.
Operations from
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We offer true-blue, friendly Aussie service to selected "premier" clients.
Items are shipped free of charge, and contact by email
is provided at all stages of each transaction.
Cheerio,
Sheryll
(Imports and Exports Manager)
eBay - forgeries, fakes, dodgy sellers, scams: the tip of the iceberg (TOTI) website
www.scads.org - the Stamp Collectors Against Dodgy Sellers (SCADS) website
Alterations, Fakes and Forgeries - exposés by Richard "Nerdman" Doporto, F.P.I.
New Hebrides - from collection to exhibit - includes links to 6 exhibits
Canberra Stampshow 2002 - the good oil!
